New Partnership Pilots Inclusion of Community Colleges in AACTE Membership

The National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs (NACCTEP) and AACTE are partnering in a new effort to better align their members around common work. In this pilot initiative, the organizations will explore and develop collaborative membership and governance structures, joint programming at the AACTE Annual Meeting, and other offerings.

Currently, 2-year colleges are eligible only for “affiliate” membership with AACTE, but a recent survey of AACTE members revealed an openness to incorporating community colleges more explicitly in the Association’s membership structure. About 800 community colleges nationwide offer some type of teacher preparation, including many programs that lead to bachelor’s degrees and licensure as well as others that prepare candidates to move on to 4-year institutions. Approximately 120 of these community colleges are members of NACCTEP.

“Inviting community colleges into AACTE’s membership will broaden the Association’s representation across the country’s teacher preparation providers,” said AACTE Director of Member Engagement Tim Finklea, who serves on the NACCTEP board. “These colleges play an important role in growing the teacher pipeline at the local level, increasing the diversity of the educator workforce, and boosting equity and access to education at all levels.”